About the Talk

In 2008, the world watched in awe as 2,008 men pounded Fou drums in unison at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony—a spectacle that heralded China's arrival as a global powerhouse. Yet even as China's economy skyrocketed, skeptics scoffed at its ability to lead in tech, arguing that its authoritarian institutions smother true innovation. Lind dismantles this assumption, showing that China has not just kept pace; it has, in fact, surged ahead.

Coupling hard data with razor-sharp analysis, Lind shows that China's ascent was fueled by what she calls "smart authoritarianism": a model of governance in which autocratic leaders temper tight political control with inclusive economic measures. By balancing proinnovation policies with tools of repression, China's leaders have obtained political control and economic growth. These smart authoritarians, Lind observes, are not the brass-knuckled dictators of the past—they are their polished Savile Row–clad progeny, and they are found not only in China but also in authoritarian regimes worldwide.

Compelling and incisive, Autocracy 2.0 is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand China's meteoric rise and how today's autocrats are reshaping the technological frontier, governance, and the global balance of power.

To purchase the book, please visit Cornell University Press' website: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501784149/autocracy-20/.

About the Author

Professor Lind holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; a Master’s from the School of Global Policy & Strategy from the University of California, San Diego; and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Professor Lind is the author of the new book, Autocracy 2.0: How China’s Rise Reinvented Tyranny (Cornell University Press, 2025). It argues that China has risen to become a superpower and technological leader – which defies the expectations of an influential school of economic thought that holds that liberal institutions are essential for innovation. Arguing that authoritarian regimes are highly heterogenous and adaptable, Lind shows that “smart authoritarianism” enabled China to not only experience catch-up economic growth but also to cultivate cutting-edge technological innovation.

Lind’s first book was Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics [buy now], which examines the effect of war memory on international reconciliation (Cornell, 2008). She has authored scholarly articles in International Security and International Studies Quarterly, and writes for wider audiences in outlets such as Foreign Affairs and National Interest. She has been quoted and interviewed by PBS Newshour, National Public Radio, the Washington Post, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Lind is also editor in chief of Blue Blaze, a multi-author Substack focusing on international relations and US foreign policy.

Professor Lind is affiliated with the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard, as well as Chatham House, London. In recent years she has been a visiting scholar at Waseda University, Japan, and at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Lind has worked as a consultant for RAND and for the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense.